diff --git a/libartbase/base/aborting.h b/libartbase/base/aborting.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c7089af
--- /dev/null
+++ b/libartbase/base/aborting.h
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 2011 The Android Open Source Project
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+#ifndef ART_LIBARTBASE_BASE_ABORTING_H_
+#define ART_LIBARTBASE_BASE_ABORTING_H_
+
+#include <atomic>
+
+namespace art {
+
+// 0 if not abort, non-zero if an abort is in progress. Used on fatal exit to prevents recursive
+// aborts. Global declaration allows us to disable some error checking to ensure fatal shutdown
+// makes forward progress.
+extern std::atomic<unsigned int> gAborting;
+
+}  // namespace art
+
+#endif  // ART_LIBARTBASE_BASE_ABORTING_H_